Goshen, Ind. — REAL News Michiana has discovered failed St. Joseph County Assessor Candidate, Ted Booker (D), broke the law by campaigning on the taxpayer dollar. Booker, who is employed as a Deputy Assessor for the Elkhart County Assessor’s Office, appears to have been campaigning during the 2022 election cycle while on the clock. The revelations come after a public records request made by RNM showing Booker was reprimanded by his superiors for bringing campaign business into work with him.
"Ted, I'm expressing what will follow, with as you know an understanding to the intense stress a campaign and such can cause, however, the environment around you has expressed it has at times reached a level of distraction which we just cannot have. Please, any specific campaign issues let's leave them at the door — general discussions and such yes do at times go towards races in surrounding areas — however this is beyond that from what I've been told." Booker's boss, Ty Miller, wrote in an email on October 6th of last year. "Cathy (Searcy -- Elkhart County Assessor) and I simply have to keep political campaign issues separate from our workday for productivity and legal reasons."
While it's apparent that Booker was reprimanded for working on his campaign while at work, RNM is working to find out exactly what Booker was doing while he was on the clock.
The laws he broke could include committing ghost employment and possible violations of the federal Hatch Act.
While RNM has confirmed Booker himself broke campaign laws, during his campaign, Booker falsely accused his opponent of violating the law. In August of 2022, RNM published a story regarding the false allegations Booker made against current St. Joseph County Assessor Mike Castellon (R). Those accusations fell flat following an extensive hearing in front of the Democrat controlled St. Joseph County Election Board.
Booker has worked for the Elkhart County Assessor's Office since 2019. Prior to working in the government, Booker was a reporter with the South Bend Tribune.
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